skirt! national editor Kelly Love Johnson was in Columbia on Thursday, signing copies and talking about her book skirt! Rules for the Workplace.

She was part of a conference for women hosted by Columbia College.  Kelly read “Being Betty,” an essay she wrote after the death of Betty Friedan.  In the essay, Kelly wonders who will lead the fight for women in the workplace now that Betty is gone.

Though Kelly wrote that essay in 2006, it seemed particularly relevant on Thursday, with a story in The State about women and poverty.  A new report shows that SC women make on average less than 74 cents for every one dollar a man makes.  (So where does that put our state’s  Equal Pay Day on the calendar?)

In her obituary for Friedan, Camille Paglia wrote:  “Betty Friedan wasn't afraid to be called abrasive. She pursued her feminist principles with a flamboyant pugnacity that has become all too rare in these yupified times.”

With her sharp sense of humor, Kelly encouraged each woman to take on some small part of the work Friedan would do if she were still here. 

But the way Kelly sees it, being Betty doesn’t mean you have to flambé your bra or march on Washington.  Being Betty can mean negotiating a better salary for yourself, refusing to wear pantyhose, or letting the guys fetch their own coffee.  

In addition to Kelly’s lunchtime talk, we heard from Linda Salane.  (That’s Linda on the left, with Simmi Singh and Columbia College president Caroline Whitson.)

Linda pointed out that women are losing ground—in the work place, in elected office, and on boards. 

She urged the audience to throw themselves into reversing these trends, because she said, “I don’t want to be talking about this 50 years from now.”  Here’s to that!

More than 150 women were there for lunch and workshops, including women you’ve read about in skirt! and the skirt! staff.

I wonder how many of those women will be Betty in the next week.